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RESOURCE MANUAL for The Principles of Accreditation:Foundations for Quality Enhancement
Third Edition: 2018, First Printing
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
Commission on Colleges
Resource Manual for The Principles of Accreditation: Foundations for Quality Enhancement 3
Organization of the Manual
The Resource Manual examines all 14 Sections of the Principles of Accreditation. In an institution’s
Compliance Certification, or other SACSCOC templates used by the institution for reporting
compliance, it is not required to submit documentation of compliance with Section 1 (Integrity);
however, for each standard that requires an institution to submit documentation of compliance in
Sections 2 through 14, this Resource Manual addresses the following:
The Standard
The wording of each standard is repeated as it appears in the Principles of Accreditation (2018). In
some instances, the stem of the standard is repeated for clarity. In a Compliance Certification, the
institution, through its own internal review process, will make its determination of its compliance
with the standard. Each standard is preceded by a number (e.g., 6.5), which begins with the section
number, followed by the number of the standard within the section (and if there are sub-standards,
followed by a letter). The Resource Manual then repeats the wording of the standard from the
Principles of Accreditation. Standards also have descriptors (e.g., “Faculty development”) as a means
to quickly identify the content of the standard. Whenever a descriptor appears in a standard, the
institution is expected to make a separate determination of overall compliance with the standard
when submitting reports to SACSCOC.
If the standard is a Core Requirement, it will be designated with the letters “CR” in brackets
following the descriptor. Core Requirements are also listed in Appendix A of this document. A Core
Requirement is a basic, broad-based, foundational requirement of the Principles of Accreditation. The
Core Requirements establish a threshold of institutional characteristics required of all institutions
seeking initial accreditation or maintaining accreditation. If a member institution is judged by the
SACSCOC Board of Trustees to be out of compliance with a Core Requirement, it must be placed on
a sanction. Candidacy status requires compliance with all Core Requirements.
Rationale and Notes
The Rationale and Notes provide a further explanation of the standard/requirement along with
reasons for its inclusion in the Principles. The rationale also references the preamble for each section
of the Principles, providing overall context for interpretation. In some instances, there may be a note
regarding a recent interpretation by the Executive Council of the SACSCOC Board of Trustees, a
related SACSCOC policy, an expanded explanation of a historical interpretation, or an expectation or
clarification. The purpose of the rationale is to give some perspective on the standard.
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Questions to Consider
For each standard or requirement, there is a series of questions designed to help an institution
examine its current processes and practices. It is extremely important that the questions be seen as
helpful prompts, not as mandatory aspects of a review. In past iterations of this Resource Manual,
there has been a tendency for these questions to become viewed as necessary parts of an institution’s
narrative; such an interpretation flies in the face of this document’s intent. The Principles mean
what they say. It is the wording of each standard that is at issue, and evaluation of compliance or
noncompliance, either by individuals at the institution or by those who are reviewing an institution,
depends on the professional judgment of those persons. So while these “Questions to Consider”
offer guidance and advice, they may be neither necessary nor sufficient to document compliance.
The written materials to be submitted to SACSCOC must be clear and complete, and include
relevant documentation. The best evidence in support of compliance may differ from institution
to institution. Those reviewing an institution must be fair and consistent, evaluating what was
submitted to make (in conjunction with all others reviewing the same materials) a holistic,
professional judgment about what was provided. Appropriate, adequate responses in support of
compliance may include different evidence depending on the institution.
Sample Documentation
The same caveats mentioned above apply to the types of evidence and documentation offered by
an institution in support of establishing compliance with each standard. It is not sufficient for an
institution to merely assert compliance with a standard; it must provide documentation to support
its assertions. Appropriate documentation depends on what is under review. This section of the
Resource Manual suggests the types of materials often submitted for review by SACSCOC. This list
is not meant to be exhaustive; institutional representatives may have that perfect bit of evidence
that is not covered here. Likewise, the list is not meant to be mandated; institutions may have totally
different documentation or only a small subset of what is listed and still establish compliance.
In general, there are two types of evidence: (1) documents that describe how the institution
operates: bylaws, strategic plan, catalog, handbooks, manuals, policies, or procedures; and 2)
documents that show how the institution operates in practice: meeting minutes, completed
inventories, completed evaluations, completed audits, completed course approval forms, completed
degree audits, copies of student complaints, assessment rubric results, or redacted transcripts. In
most cases, it will be important for an institution to include both types of documentation when
responding to the standard.
It is not enough simply to provide documentation; its relevance and timeliness should be
discussed and made clear. Documents without a clear narrative as to their applicability and
appropriateness can be easily misinterpreted by reviewers. So please, do not view anything in this
Manual to be a simple checklist.
Resource Manual for The Principles of Accreditation: Foundations for Quality Enhancement 5
Reference to SACSCOC Documents, if Applicable
For some standards/requirements, there may be SACSCOC policies, procedures, guidelines, good
practices, and approved interpretations that the institution should review during its self-assessment.
If there are such documents, they will be referenced in this section.
For the purpose of accreditation, such documents are defined as follows:
Policies and procedures. A policy is a required course of action to be followed by the
SACSCOC or its member or candidate institutions. SACSCOC policies may also include
procedures, which are likewise a required course of action to be followed by SACSCOC
or its member or candidate institutions. The Principles of Accreditation require that an
institution comply with the policies and procedures of SACSCOC. Policies are approved
by vote of the SACSCOC Board of Trustees. At its discretion, the Board may choose to
forward a policy to the College Delegate Assembly for approval. All policies are available on
the SACSCOC website (www.sacscoc.org). SACSCOC maintains currency on the website
and reserves the right to add, modify, or delete any of the policies listed.
Guidelines. A guideline is an advisory statement designed to assist institutions in fulfilling
accreditation requirements and standards. As such, guidelines describe recommended
educational practices for documenting requirements of the Principles of Accreditation
and are approved by the Executive Council of the SACSCOC Board of Trustees. The
guidelines are examples of commonly accepted practices that constitute compliance with
the standard. Depending on the nature and mission of the institution, however, other
approaches may be more appropriate and provide evidence of compliance. All guidelines
are available on the SACSCOC website (www.sacscoc.org). SACSCOC maintains currency
on the website and reserves the right to add, modify, or delete any of the good practices
listed.
Good practices. Good practices are commonly-accepted practices within the higher
education community which enhance institutional quality. Good practices may be
formulated by outside agencies and organizations and endorsed by the Executive Council
of the SACSCOC Board of Trustees or the SACSCOC Board of Trustees. Good practice
documents are available on the SACSCOC website (www.sacscoc.org). SACSCOC
maintains currency on the website and reserves the right to add, modify, or delete any of
the good practices listed.
Position statements. A position statement examines an issue facing the SACSCOC
membership, describes appropriate approaches, and states the SACSCOC stance on the
issue. It is endorsed by the Executive Council of the SACSCOC Board of Trustees or the
Board itself. Position statements are available on the SACSCOC website (www.sacscoc.
org). SACSCOC maintains currency on the website and reserves the right to add, modify,
or delete any of the position statements listed
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Documents. While not official materials, these are templates of required information
as part of many submissions to SACSCOC. Reviewers are expecting a reasonably
standardized way of presenting the requested information, so these documents should
be consulted when writing narratives for submission to SACSCOC. All documents are
available on the SACSCOC website (www.sacscoc.org). The Commission maintains
currency online and reserves the right to add, modify, or delete any published document at
any time. It is the institution’s responsibility to check for updates.
Cross-References to Other Related Standards/Requirements, if Applicable
Some standards/requirements are related in content and expectation. In those cases, the standard/
requirement is listed.
Additional Materials
In addition, the appendices of this Resource Manual include the following:
Appendix A: Chart of Standards. Lists all standards of the Principles of Accreditation
with descriptors and indicates the status of the standard relative to these characteristics:
(1) is a Core Requirement; (2) is part of the Fifth-Year Interim Report; (3) is part of the
Application for Membership; (4) is reviewed on site even if the off-site committee finds
compliance; (5) requires a published institutional policy or procedure; and (6) is closely
associated with a SACSCOC policy statement or statements (as identified in the narratives
in this report).
Appendix B: Glossary of Terms. Refers to terms in SACSCOC policy, standards,
procedures, and practices that have a prescribed definition or an interpretive
understanding when applied.
Appendix C: Guidelines for Addressing Distance and Correspondence Education, Off-
Campus Instructional Sites, and Branch Campuses. Serves as a guide for institutions
and evaluators by providing procedures and criteria for use when evaluating distance
learning and correspondence education programs, and in those cases where an institution
has off-campus instructional sites offering 50% or more of a program, and/or has branch
campuses.
Appendix D: Commission Documents of Special Significance for Institutions. Describes
the various Commission documents/policies/forms that may assist institutions in their
work with SACSCOC.
Appendix E: Overview of Accreditation. Describes the types of accreditation and the
organizational structure of the SACSCOC.
Resource Manual for The Principles of Accreditation: Foundations for Quality Enhancement 7
Important Considerations Applicable to The Principles Of Accreditation
Application of the Requirements and Standards. SACSCOC bases its accreditation of degree-
granting higher education institutions and entities on requirements and standards in the Principles
of Accreditation: Foundations for Quality Enhancement. These requirements and standards apply to all
institutional programs and services, wherever located or however delivered. This includes programs
offered through distance and correspondence education, and at off-campus instructional sites and
branch campuses. Consequently, when preparing documents for the Commission demonstrating
compliance with the Principles of Accreditation, an institution must include these sites and programs in
its “Institutional Summary Form Prepared for Commission Reviews” and address them in its analysis
and documentation of compliance. (See SACSCOC policy Distance and Correspondence Education.)
The Requirement of a Policy. Implicit in every standard mandating a policy or procedure is the
expectation that the policy or procedure is in writing and has been approved through appropriate
institutional processes, published in appropriate institutional documents accessible to those affected
by the policy or procedure, and implemented and enforced by the institution. At the time of review, an
institution will be expected to demonstrate that it has met all of the above elements. If the institution
has had no cause to apply its policy, it should indicate that an example of implementation is unavailable
because there has been no cause to apply it. (See SACSCOC best practices, Developing Policy and
Procedures Documents.) Appendix A contains a summary of standards calling for a policy or procedure.
This will also be noted in the “Reference to SACSCOC Documents, if Applicable” section of affected
standards.
Organization of the Principles of Accreditation. The revision of the Principles of Accreditation
approved by the SACSCOC College Delegate Assembly in December 2017 represents a major shift in
the organization of this key guiding document. Earlier editions of the Principles were organized in
sections relating to Core Requirements, Comprehensive Standards, and Federal Requirements. While
Core Requirements remain, they are not separated out, but instead clearly marked within the text
of the document with the designation “CR” and identified in Appendix A. The distinction between
Comprehensive Standards and Federal Requirements has been discarded. Institutions are responsible
for maintaining compliance with all standards, whether or not they are driven by the SACSCOC
membership or as a result of federal expectations related to the role SACSCOC plays as a gatekeeper in
establishing the eligibility of its accredited institutions to participate in programs authorized under Title
IV of the Higher Education Act, as amended, and other federal programs.
Thus, in an effort to reduce perceived redundancies and to provide a clearer structure to the
Principles, the current document is structured topically. If a section contains Core Requirements, these
will appear as the first standards in that section and will be clearly designated. The standards cover
all topics required by federal mandates, and this distinction will continue to play a role in reviews of
institutions seeking candidacy and in the fifth-year interim review process. As with standards requiring
a policy, standards that are parts of either initial candidacy reviews or part of the Fifth-Year Interim
Report will appear in Appendix A. This listing is accurate as of January 2018, but could be updated, for
example, if federal requirements change.